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08-13-2020, 08:13 AM | #591 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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Episode 30, the start of what feels like a whole new era of Blade! (And funny how you'll immediately be side-stepping into the movie just after this 'shift'). I joked about Mutsuki being Spider-Man, but now he really is embodying him... specifically the one from the Spider-Man 3 movie. A black repaint of Leangle would actually be less on-the-nose than Mutsuki's current get-up!
As for the new opening and ELEMENTs, I'm kinda eh about them though I fully admit it's due to bias. It's a fine song and a neat-enough music video sequence, but after 29 episodes, I naturally got attached to Blade Brave and the incredibly low-budget looking sequence of people just doing random gestures in a studio. That kind of change was unprecedented in my Rider experiences, and I guess I just wasn't willing to accept it! I sure hope no other season has changes like that halfway through it's run and that they Keep their Beat! |
08-13-2020, 01:10 PM | #592 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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So yeah, the theme song changed. While this is the first time you’ve seen it happened, it’s actually a common thing in Tokusatsu whenever a retool happens (Ultraman Leo, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters) and Kamen Rider has the monopoly on it (having changed the theme in Kamen Rider (1971), Kamen Rider (1979), this series and Kamen Rider Hibiki. Whenever compilations are made, the first OP is always the one included, though ELEMENTS (the song here) is the one that always gets performed at concerts, for reasons I’ll elaborate on below.
The group performing the new song, ELEMENTS, Rider Chips f. Ricky, subsequently went on to become a regular performing group for Kamen Rider, having contributed to the soundtracks for Kabuto, Ex-Aid and Zi-O, while also covering every Kamen Rider OP except Build and Zero-One (yes, that includes the Showa ones). They’re also one of the only acts you’re guaranteed to see performing at a music concert for Kamen Rider (by contrast, Super Sentai is likely to feature everyone they’ve had perform at least two songs in the last 15 years). Quote:
I mean, I could go on and on about cool things in this episode. As much as I love the first opening, the second one's just as great. You can tell it's doing its job because Die described it as a promotion for a boy band, which is exactly what the Blade Riders are, and why I love them. Plus it has that shot where Blade destroys your television/computer screen!
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ELEMENTS seemed to be the more favorite theme song at the time. I like both theme songs but ever since this thread happened and re-listening to both whenever I had the chance, I think Round Zero by a tidbit is much more my favorite. ELEMENTS has better guitar riffs for sure and that ambience at the beginning is cool but Round Zero's piano/synth sections won me over I guess.
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As for the new opening and ELEMENTs, I'm kinda eh about them though I fully admit it's due to bias. It's a fine song and a neat-enough music video sequence, but after 29 episodes, I naturally got attached to Blade Brave and the incredibly low-budget looking sequence of people just doing random gestures in a studio.
That kind of change was unprecedented in my Rider experiences, and I guess I just wasn't willing to accept it! I sure hope no other season has changes like that halfway through it's run and that they Keep their Beat! Still, I love that folks have feelings about it that they're willing to share. It's not the hill I'd die on, but I'm glad other people dig it. Quote:
Anyway, this episode is killer, and while to its credit, it's not incongruous with anything that's happened before, I think you really see Aikawa shuffling all the pieces on the board exactly where he wants them right away. Part of it is maybe the natural escalation of being later in the series, but it comes off to me like he's got a real plan for this show he's eager to execute. There's just loads of characters and plot points being introduced and pushed forward, and a ton of just plain cool moments beyond that. Leangle beating up cops is super memorable to me, the new monster at the end that just eats Kenzaki's card when he goes to seal it, which is a crazy impactful twist on usual routine, especially when that fight was also the debut of the show's third and final insert theme, the ever grammatically questionable "take it a try", following in Rebirth's footsteps by being a character song for Hajime sung by his actor Ryouji Morimoto.
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Episode 30, the start of what feels like a whole new era of Blade! (And funny how you'll immediately be side-stepping into the movie just after this 'shift'). I joked about Mutsuki being Spider-Man, but now he really is embodying him... specifically the one from the Spider-Man 3 movie. A black repaint of Leangle would actually be less on-the-nose than Mutsuki's current get-up!
Just a real big shot in the arm for the series with this episode.
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08-13-2020, 01:39 PM | #593 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 2,481
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Hey since the title theme just changed, I figured it'd be a good time to post this English Cover of Round Zero/Blade Brave. It's one of my favorite covers.
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08-13-2020, 01:47 PM | #594 |
Dr. Salt NEO
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 727
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My favorite thing about the new intro is that it humorously displays something no one would ever notice otherwise, which is the height disparity between some of the actors and their suit actors. This isn't something that's at all relevant normally, but it always stands out to me at the very end of the intro sequence here. When they're all standing at the edge of the cliff beside each other, it really shows that Hajime is a pretty small guy, while Kenzaki is easily the tallest of them. Then it shows them transform, and all of a sudden Blade and Chalice are the same height, with Hajime and Kenzaki both gaining/losing several inches of height respectively. Like I said before, it's not something anyone would ever really notice normally, but the height disparity between Kenzaki and Hajime is really noticeable, especially when they're standing right beside each other in this shot. So when they transform and instantly become the exact same height, it just strikes me as amusing every time.
Sure you can explain it away in the story since Hajime is basically a shapeshifter whose height changes per form, but that doesn't make the visual effect shown in the sequence look any less funny to me.
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08-13-2020, 01:48 PM | #595 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Wow! That was great! Thanks for sharing it!
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08-13-2020, 01:53 PM | #596 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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But, yeah, he's so small! He's a SHODO in a cast of Figuarts! ...oh my god i'm totally going to put a shodo chalice next to my figuarts blade when i've got them both
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08-13-2020, 03:10 PM | #597 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,826
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I used to think Elements was the better song. Now, after actually watching Blade, I think I prefer Blade Brave? Neither are my *favourite* opening per se, but Blade Brave would do pretty well in a Top 20!
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08-13-2020, 04:19 PM | #598 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
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Kenzaki would totally run a Blue-Eyes deck because "It's got lots of attack and it's cool!"
Tachibana hasn't played the game since 2008, and is still a little confused by everything above Fusions. His deck runs about 5 archetypes all medley'd together and yet he still somehow pulls a win on occasion. Hajime runs some obscure archetype you never paid much attention too, has some weird ass summoning mechanic you're not quite sure is legal, and at least one of his cards is in a foreign language. Mutsuki wants to use whatever won the latest championships but doesn't have the money for it.
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08-13-2020, 04:48 PM | #599 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
What if her doesn't have other interior life, and only caring about Mutsuki, is actually the reason why her worrying about him being believable? Also like I said before, this worrying aspect of her was utilized by Shima for Mutsuki repressing. Not pulling off the cliche tragic life type (outside debatably what she's processing through), but she doesn't seem to went through a lot, but she seems to only have Mutsuki and nothing else for her life (I mean, going through a lot that she only had him to confide in). Here she somehow ends up in Kurihara household where its the place that Mutsuki "dumped" her (And Amane getting a bit reprimanded for her behavior, though a bit too light), asking when Mutsuki went there again, trying to visit him.
And, to be clear, I'm not trying to suggest that Nozomi needs a hugely beefed-up role in the story. Her role is to support Mutsuki's story, just like Mutsuki's role is to (theoretically) support Kenzaki's story. There's a hierarchy to this type of storytelling. So, within those restrictions, I think Nozomi does a great job. Quote:
Also, btw, Tachibana was broken only for first 15 episodes due to him facing mortality, culminating in him ending it by killing Isaka, can you, uh, let go of the status quo for Tachibana after ep. 15 onwards? (or probably explain more why he's actually still broken all this time)
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Sorry, I'm not getting the reference. Feel free to share it!
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08-13-2020, 04:54 PM | #600 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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I think really it just helps if you know a little something more about the character to make them feel a bit more real; just something that makes them much more of a person, and an outside hobby or job can do that. Looking at examples throughout Rider you've got Hina Izumi from OOO being an aspiring fashion designer; Akari Tsukimura of Ghost's cast being a scientist in the making; Mari Sonoda from 555 wanting to be a hairdresser. These traits allow these characters, at least in my opinion; to stand out a little more among other heroines in the franchise because they have their own goals and interests outside what they meant to the main character.
(this isn't to say they're the only ones or even the best ones -- heck, my personal favourite heroine in Rider is and probably always will be Agito's Sumiko Ozawa. Just some good examples I could think of that fit the bill here!) So here for instance, it might have benefited Nozomi if say... maybe she said her favourite subject was History; or she mentioned she was in an Astrology club; or maybe there could be one of those trope-y scenes Toku oh-so-loves where she reminds Mutsuki that they had promised each other they'd help reach their dreams or yadda yadda. Nothing much, just that dropping small details into a throwaway line or two would help make her feel more real! As-is though, she does still fill her intended purpose quite well; and as said it's acted quite well too! It's just nice when these characters can feel more like people than plot devices too.
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Last edited by Kurona; 08-13-2020 at 04:56 PM.. |
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